– First, Gladys Knight has joined the cast of the upcoming new Fox series “Empire,” playing herself in what will likely be a recurring role. This is the hip-hop industry drama series from Lee Daniels, which stars Terrence Howard as industry icon Lucious Lyon, as the head of a family-run music empire, which is about to go public.

– Second, Rotimi Akinosho has booked a series regular role on the Starz drama series “Power,” from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, which stars Omari Hardwick as wealthy New York City nightclub owner James “Ghost” St. Patrick, who is living a double life as a kingpin. Akinosho has signed up to play a character named Dre, who is described as a quick-tempered young protégé of Kanan (Jackson).

– Third, Logan Browning (“Hit the Floor”) has been cast as Zora in the Sony PlayStation Network television adaptation of the comic book series “Powers,” created by Brian Michael Bendis, who revealed the news via his Tumblr. Browning joins Sharlto Copley as Christian Walker and Susan Heyward as Deena Pilgrim in the series.

– And finally, in what shouldn’t be much of a surprise, Mara Brock and Salim Akil have signed a new 2-year deal with BET, extending their existing 3-year agreement with the network. This will lock down the creative couple at BET through 2016. Their latest offering, “Being Mary Jane,” returns for a second season in 2015.